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What is human geography

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Human Geography

Is the study of…

Human societies and..

How they function in the places where they live,

How culture and societies develop and shift over time,

How they affect the environment around them,

How the environment affects them.

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Human GeographyExamples


Human Geog

Cultural Geog

Political Geog

Economic Geog

Social Geog

Population Studies

Transport

Urban Geog

Human GeographyUrban Geography


We will look at the ways in cities and towns are constructed, governed and experienced.Of particular focus are:

Housing issues in cities

Management of natural

disasters such as floods

Development of transport networks in

cities

How and where do people live?5

How and where do people live?

1


How and where do people live?Contents

1. How has human society developed?– Hunter-gatherer society– Agrarian society– Industrial society

2. Where do people live today?– Features of cities

○Large population size○High population density○Cosmopolitan population○Built-up area


How and where do people live?How has human society developed?

1

Human society

A human society is a group of people who share a common lifestyle and organisation. They tend to:• Live in the same country, region or area• Share laws, organisations and customs• Live, work and play together• Developed in various stages


Hunter-gatherer society

Agrarian society

Industrial society

Human society

Generally speaking, over the course of human history, we can classify these categories into three broad groups:



Agrarian society Industrial society



‘Hunter-gatherers are nomadic, which means they move around in search of food.’

Hunter-gatherer societyHunter-gatherers

• Hunt animals and gather plants for food• Do not build permanent shelters to live in• Live together in small groups• Exist in many parts of the world today


Early humans used to live a nomadic lifestyle. They would hunt and gather food for a living. It was hard work and it made it difficult for our numbers to grow.

15,000 years ago

This went on for a few thousand more years. They became so good at hunting that most of the large

animals which they depended on died out.

At this point in time, they had two options: they could either move (yet again) or stay and find a way to survive on plant life.

Eventually, many of these ‘banded societies’ grew tired of moving around and decided to stay and settle down.

Agrarian society


‘Agrarian societies depend mainly on the growing of crops and raising of livestock.’

How has human society developed?Agrarian society• People settled down in

specific locations• They practised farming to

feed themselves• Excess crops were sold for a

profit or traded for other things

• Such societies developed in places with fertile land

• Farming settlements gradually developed into towns and cities


Eventually, many of these ‘banded societies’ grew tired of moving around and decided to stay and settle down.

At this point in time, they had two options: they could either move (yet again) or stay and find a way to survive on plant life.

No one knows for sure how they discovered how to grow food. Whatever the case, once we discovered how to make our environment work FOR US, there was no turning back.

From this…

With the abundance of food, tribes grew into village centres, villages grew into trading centres…

…to this

…where excess food and other goods were sold. Eventually, these trading centres grew even larger…

…to this!

… and became great industrial centres!

Industrial society


‘An industrial society depends mainly on the manufacturing of goods using machinery and technology. Such a society is driven by advances in science and technology.’

Industrial society

• Activities are carried out for profit (e.g. manufacturing)• Use of machinery to turn raw materials into finished

goods for sale• Early industrial cities were located close to waterways

or sources of energy– Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom– Seattle, United States of America


Early industrial centres were home to a lot of factories. The factories could produce vast quantities of different goods, which they would then use to trade with other cities…

Eventually, the factories died out and moved overseas where costs were cheaper. Cities were thus forced to adapt and change…

…to this!

While some cities fell into decline, those that survived went on to become great business centres. Can you name some examples?


Most of the world’s largest cities are developed along coastal areas or rivers.

Workbook Exercise

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How and where do people live?Where do people live today?

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Where do people live today?

‘52% of the world lived in cities in 2010’United Nations


Where do people live today?


‘Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in cities.’

Green

R0 G139 B93


How and where do people live?How has human society developed?

1

Features of cities

• Cities are large, densely populated settlements• Characteristics of cities:

– Large population size– High population density– Cosmopolitan population– Built-up area


Features of citiesLarge population size


‘Population size is the total number of people in an area.’


• Why cities have a large population size:– Natural increaseo The difference between the birth rate and death rate

of a countryo Natural increase = birth rate – death rate

– Rural-urban migrationo People migrate to cities because it offers more

opportunities




‘Rural-urban migration is the movement of people from rural areas into a city to live and work.’



The ten largest megacities in the world in terms of population size.

Features of citiesHigh population density


‘Population density is the number of people living in a unit area of land.’

Features of citiesHigh population density• The result of a large population

in a small land area• Population density =

Number of people ÷ Area they occupy (in sq km)

• Examples:–Hong Kong–New York City


A street scene in densely populated Hong Kong

Features of citiesCosmopolitan population


‘A cosmopolitan city has a multicultural society with many people from diverse cultural backgrounds.’

Features of citiesCosmopolitan population

• Comfortable interacting with one another• Open to different ideas• Open to different ways of doing things• Example: New York City

– 36.8% of city is foreign-born– Over 800 different languages


Features of citiesBuilt-up area

• Covered by buildings and roads• Characterised by:

– Dense transport networks– Tall buildings (e.g. office buildings, condominiums)– Amenities and facilities (e.g. schools, hospitals)



Cities are URBAN environments!

Instead of mountains, we have skyscrapers

Instead of rivers, we have roads and trains

Instead of forests, we have parks and stadiums

Instead of animals, we have people

Instead of natural disasters, we have man-made problems

Conclusion

• In your own words, explain what is the difference between human and physical geography

• What sort of issues do urban geographers study?• How did most of the cities of today develop?

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Education

human society

agrarian society people

customs live

group of people

study of human societies

agrarian societies

course of human history

large animals